The small band of strikers that has effectively shut down the nation's busiest shipping complex forced two huge cargo ships to head for other ports Thursday and kept at least three others away, hobbling an economic powerhouse in Southern California. The disruption is costing an estimated $1 billion a day at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, on which some 600,000 truckers, dockworkers, trading companies and others depend for their livelihoods. "The longer it goes, the more the impacts increase," said Paul Bingham, an economist with infrastructure consulting firm CDM Smith.

A California dockworkers union lodged an accusation for the second time in three months against APM Terminals for eavesdropping on workers to gain an edge in contract negotiations. The clerical workers' unit of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local No. 63 last week rejected contracts that were reached in December to end a strike at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and the new complaint is another sign that tension between the union and management persists. In its original complaint filed Nov. 14, the Long Beach-based ILWU accused APM of conducting "secret surveillance, eavesdropping and snooping" on workers during the weeks leading up to an eight-day strike that shut down most of the cargo terminals at the busiest seaport complex in the country.

Though I might disagree with a couple of points in the Nov. 15 editorial, "L.A.'s Dawdling Ports," still I say three cheers for ringing the alarm bells about bankers' hours of the terminals at the nation's busiest seaport. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union called for extended hours at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles long ago, and so we agree with The Times that the current business-as-usual schedule is not good enough. The union would like to see the ports embrace 24/7 access and the creation of inland staging areas so we can move this cargo off the docks and into the supply chain more efficiently and quickly, so goods arrive in neighborhood stores on time.

The National Retail Federation is applauding a tentative contract agreement between the union that represents 14 East Coast and Gulf coast seaports and an alliance of shipping lines, terminal operators and port associations. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service announced late Friday night that a deal had been reached between the International Longshoremens Assn. and the U.S. Maritime Alliance. Terms of the deal were not disclosed because of the sensitive nature of the talks, said George H. Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

A 73-year-old dockworker was killed Friday after being run over by a forklift as he was helping unhook cargo from a ship at the Port of Long Beach, officials said. Carlos Rivera of Wilmington had worked on the waterfront for more than 40 years. "This is a man with considerable experience," said John Showalter, spokesman for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. "This affirms the fact that the docks are a dangerous place to work." The California United Terminal, where the 11 a.m. accident occurred, ordered cargo handling halted for 24 hours.

Re "Stage Set for More Port Labor Strife," Sept. 29: The International Longshore and Warehouse Union fears that computers might replace some of its union brethren in the buggy-whip department, so it stages a work slowdown? This is precisely what's wrong with organized labor today: The painters union fears its members may become more productive with wider brushes, or the construction workers union fears its members may become more efficient with heavier hammers. Sheesh. The stevedoring companies would do well by offering these jobs outside at half the $80,000 union wage.

Whereas business monopolies are dangerous to the economy of the country, so are union monopolies ["Dispute Shows a Union Firmly Anchored at West Coast Ports," Oct. 13]. The dockworkers plainly have a monopoly on the West Coast that can be devastating to the U.S. economy. Unions have a right to apply economic pressure on their employers but not on individuals and businesses that have no voice in their demands. Legislation should be passed that places unions on an equal footing with anti-trust laws on business.

West Coast port workers may resort to work slowdowns as contract negotiations extend past Tuesday's deadline, a Wolfe Research analyst said Wednesday. Such actions may be "in the near term," Ed Wolfe, the New York analyst, said in a report to investors. He didn't say why he believed they might occur. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Assn., which represents port terminal operators, have been trying to avoid a strike like the one that idled the cargo entry points for 10 days in 2002.

By locking out the longshoremen not once but twice (after publicly threatening to do so several times), management has made it clear that it never intended to sit down at the table with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and bargain in good faith (Sept. 30). Rather, its plan all along has been to get the federal government involved in these negotiations in the hope that the feds could succeed in pulling off what it (the Pacific Maritime Assn.) has been unable to do, i.e., break the longshoremen's union.

The National Retail Federation is applauding a tentative contract agreement between the union that represents 14 East Coast and Gulf coast seaports and an alliance of shipping lines, terminal operators and port associations. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service announced late Friday night that a deal had been reached between the International Longshoremens Assn. and the U.S. Maritime Alliance. Terms of the deal were not disclosed because of the sensitive nature of the talks, said George H. Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

The nation's retailers, manufacturers and farmers are bracing for a possible strike that could idle U.S. ports all along the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast. That walkout could begin as early as Sunday after the expiration of a 90-day extension of a contract between the International Longshoremen's Assn. and several shipping lines, terminal operators and port associations. It would be the first strike by the ILA in 35 years. Until negotiations broke down last week, the union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance Ltd. - a group of ocean cargo shipping lines, cargo terminal operators and port associations at 14 U.S. harbors - had been trying to iron out terms of a new six-year contract.

About 800 clerical workers based at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports find themselves in a position to wreak havoc on the economy of Southern California. Members of a local unit of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, they have gone on strike against the shipping companies that employ them, shutting down most of the cargo terminals at the two ports. The dispute epitomizes the issues confronted by organized labor in a globally connected world: The union is fighting to hold onto jobs that are increasingly threatened by automation and the Internet.

The small band of strikers that has effectively shut down the nation's busiest shipping complex forced two huge cargo ships to head for other ports Thursday and kept at least three others away, hobbling an economic powerhouse in Southern California. The disruption is costing an estimated $1 billion a day at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, on which some 600,000 truckers, dockworkers, trading companies and others depend for their livelihoods. "The longer it goes, the more the impacts increase," said Paul Bingham, an economist with infrastructure consulting firm CDM Smith.

A small union of maritime clerks managed to shut down most of the nation's busiest seaport complex Wednesday, raising concerns about harm to the fragile economy. Although late November is a relatively slow time for cargo movement at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, a prolonged closure could prove costly for retailers and manufacturers who rely on the ports to get their goods as well as truckers and other businesses that depend on the docks for work. "You are stranding goods at ports that handle 40% of the nation's import trade," said Jock O'Connell, an international trade economist who works as an advisor to Beacon Economics.

Protesters from Occupy L.A. and other groups plan to form a picket line at the Port of Long Beach on Monday to try to shut down traffic at at least one shipping terminal. Similar actions are planned at ports up and down the West Coast. The target of the Long Beach protest is SSA Marine, a shipping company. Occupy L.A. demonstrator Michael Novick said protesters chose SSA Marine because "they embody all the ills of this economic regime we live under. " Protesters say SSA Marine has engaged in unfair labor practices and pursued objectionable environmental policies.

The union representing West Coast dockworkers has formed an alliance with pilots who guide ships through the Panama Canal, a link-up that could boost the bargaining power of both unions. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union represents workers in the U.S. and Canada, including 50,000 longshore and other workers on the West Coast. The union has been concerned about the potential loss of cargo, jobs and collective bargaining power that could occur when the Panama Canal expansion opens in 2014.

The Justice Department said Wednesday that it will not pursue contempt penalties against the dockworkers union or shipping companies for contributing to slowdowns in violation of a court order to keep West Coast ports moving normally. The statement was filed with the U.S. District Court in San Francisco on the eve of a status conference today involving the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Assn, which represents shipping lines and terminal operators.

The nation's retailers, manufacturers and farmers are bracing for a possible strike that could idle U.S. ports all along the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast. That walkout could begin as early as Sunday after the expiration of a 90-day extension of a contract between the International Longshoremen's Assn. and several shipping lines, terminal operators and port associations. It would be the first strike by the ILA in 35 years. Until negotiations broke down last week, the union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance Ltd. - a group of ocean cargo shipping lines, cargo terminal operators and port associations at 14 U.S. harbors - had been trying to iron out terms of a new six-year contract.

A labor dispute with the potential to shut down much of the nation's busiest seaport complex may drag for weeks as the maritime clerks union and employers argue about a little-known agreement reached during the depth of the global recession. The two sides at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are still far apart in their negotiations on a contract to replace the one that expired June 30, which prompted a clerk walkout at four container terminals. On Friday, the 900-member clerical union expanded picketing to a fifth container terminal, temporarily interrupting dock operations.

Ever since the 1930s, when Harry Bridges founded the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the legendary labor leader's name has conjured images of dockworker walkouts and bloody clashes with police on the picket lines in the hardworking port communities of Wilmington and San Pedro.